Review: Frozen warms up everyone on ice spectacular

Dave Craven

ANY mention of Disney instantly brings up magical images and connotations.

Add the words ‘On Ice’ in there and that creates a whole new raft of possibilities.

That colourful, delightful show skated into Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena last week and it is hard to decipher who enjoyed it most - the masses of wide-eyed, spellbound kids seeing all their favourite characters come to life or the grown-ups you notice singing and tapping along to every classic song that accompanies the action on the rink.

And what action there is, all brilliantly staged and choreographed, from hosts Mickey and Minnie Mouse’s initial entrance to the magnificent denouement involving many of the cast from that behemoth Frozen.

This is the first time Disney On Ice have incorporated the uber-successful Frozen characters into their show and, undoubtedly, the arrival of the princess sisters Elsa and Anna is the pinnacle of this performance.

It is no surprise - the film is made for this sort of thing - and the ubiquitous Let it Go is a clear crowd pleaser as snow falls and terrific lighting creates a dazzling Arendelle

However, it is only one of four acts each of which delivers its own magic.

The first half involves Toy Story - the marching soldiers, one spectacularly ‘flying’ down onto the ice, are great - with Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Barbie and Ken all in fine form before, in another blaze of colour, The Little Mermaid’s Princess Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian the crab take us through to the break.

Next up is Disney Pixar’s Cars which, considering the sheer size of the automobiles on show, is remarkable for the manner in which the sequences are so perfectly synchronized around the ice.

But, unsurprisingly, Frozen, with the dastardly Prince Hans, ever-amusing Kristoff and crowd favourite Olaf all appearing - granted, there was mutterings about reindeer Sven’s whereabouts - with those two aforementioned stars, is what leaves everyone impressed most.

The show is back for another run in Sheffield in December 2016, an ideal Christmas present perhaps...